Discovery of Andromeda XIV: A Dwarf Spheroidal Dynamical Rogue in the Local Group?

Abstract

In the course of our survey of the outer halo of the Andromeda galaxy we have discovered a remote, possible satellite of that system at a projected 162 kpc (11.7°) radius. The fairly elongated (± 0.09 ellipticity) dwarf can be fit with a King profile of 1.07 kpc (d/784 kpc) limiting radius, where the satellite distance, d, is estimated at ∼630-850 kpc from the tip of the red giant branch. The newfound galaxy, "Andromeda XIV" ("And XIV"), distinguishes itself from other Local Group galaxies by its extreme dynamics; Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopy reveals it to have a large heliocentric radial velocity (-481 km s -1 ), or -206 km s -1 velocity relative to M31. Even at its projected radius And XIV already is at the M31 escape velocity based on the latest M31 mass models. If And XIV is bound to M31, then recent models with reduced M31 virial masses need revision upward. If not bound to M31, then And XIV is just now falling into the Local Group for the first time and represents a dwarf galaxy that formed and spent almost its entire life in isolation. © 2007. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.